Jay-Fort football rivalry overdue

I never thought it would happen.
And I’m thrilled I was wrong.
Jay County and Fort Recovery high schools came to an agreement last week on a contract to meet on the football field next season for the first time.
The four-year deal calls for two games apiece at Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium and Barrenbrugge Athletic Park. And both JCHS athletics director Steve Boozier and FRHS AD Kurt Rammel have expressed an interest in extending the rivalry beyond four years if possible.
I never expected even a single game to be possible between the Patriots and Indians.
With Jay County slated to join the Allen County Athletic Conference next season and the Ohio football calendar starting a week later than that of the Hoosier state, it seemed unlikely there would ever be a feasible date. JCHS does not want to give up nearby Blackford as its week-two opponent, and, I thought, the rest of the schedule would be filled with ACAC foes.
But with Garrett on its way out of the Allen County Athletic Conference, the group will be left with seven teams for football. That means six league games, and one extra non-conference date. That date just happened to fall in week three for Jay County, which matches up with week two for Fort Recovery.
The Indians were able to come to an agreement with regular week-two opponent Waynesfield-Goshen to end their contract, which opened the doors for the Jay County/Fort Recovery rivalry to begin.
This is a rivalry that has already proven to be great in other sports.
In the first 10 years the boys basketball teams played each other, seven of those games were decided by three or fewer points. Several recent girls basketball games have come down to the wire, with the teams going to overtime during the 2011-12 season.
Sure, the games won’t always be close. But when they are, the atmosphere is incredible.
And that atmosphere will have a chance to develop in all sports, because Boozier and Rammel did not just agree on a deal for football. They have come together with the hope of having Jay County and Fort Recovery compete against each other every year in every sport possible.
The Patriots and Indians have already been competing in cross country, girls basketball, swimming, track and softball. The boys basketball rivalry, which was inexplicably stopped, re-started and then called off again, will return this year after a four-year hiatus.
The athletics directors are working on renewing the baseball rivalry, with the possibility of the two squads playing each other in the spring at Fifth Third Field, the home of the Class A Dayton Dragons. And they’ve also discussed the possibility of sharing host responsibilities for a holiday basketball tournament.
They only other sport they could come together to compete in is girls golf, and there’s no reason that couldn’t happen next season as well. (The teams will be unable to play in boys golf, because in Ohio the sport is played in the fall while in Indiana it is contested in the spring.)
This is the definition of a win-win. In fact, it’s probably even better than that.
It’s a win for the fans. As Boozier correctly pointed out, there is a strong connection between Jay County and Fort Recovery with many residents who have grown up in one community and moved to the other.
It’s a win for both athletics departments. The football game will likely bring the biggest home crowd of the year for both schools, and that means more revenue, not only in terms of ticket sales but also concessions and 50-50 tickets.
And, most importantly, it’s a win for the athletes. Every athlete deserves the experience of playing in front of a packed house with loyal fans filling both sides of the stands. That’s exactly what this game will be.
Boozier and Rammel are already talking about special promotions for the football game. And there has also been talk of an all-sport traveling trophy that would go to whichever school won the most competitions against the other in the course of a school year.
This is a rivalry that just makes sense.
Fort Recovery High School is closer to JCHS than any other school, less than 14 miles away. The communities are intertwined, through friendships, marriages and support of each other’s businesses.
There is so much potential for this to be an incredible, friendly rivalry, not just in one sport, but across the board.
So mark it on your calendars — Sept. 5, 2014. The Patriots and the Indians will meet on the football field for the first time.
Hopefully, it’s the first of many.[[In-content Ad]]